Stayed container



Filed Aug. 30,

April 24 1934- E. wArsoN 1,956,458

STAYED CONTAINER Filed Aug. 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 24, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STAYED CONTAINER Edgar Watson, Towson, Md., assignor to The Lafayette Company, Baltimore, Md., a corporation of Maryland This invention relates to improvements in containers andmore particularly concerns the staying or bracing of opposite walls of the container whereby to support thesewalls against bulging.

One of the features of the present invention is the provision of a'stay in a container, which operates to hold the opposite walls against bulging.

and yet is so constructed and arranged that it doesnot hinder or prevent the ready folding of the container into fiat condition for easy shipment.

Another feature 'of the present invention is the provision of a stay for preventing the bulging of opposite walls of the container, in combination with means for distributing the stresses in the 16 stay to the said walls.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of a container havingI stay means for opposite walls thereof, in conjunction with stay supporting elements which maintain the connection of the stay with the walls at a predetermined point, whereby the container may be folded flat without movement of the stays from the desired position upon later unfolding of the container.

Still another feature of the present invention relates to improvements in stays and stay plates for containers, whereby the stays maybe quickly and accurately positioned in assembling the container.

With these and other objects in view as will appear in the course of the following specification and claims, an illustrative form of container, and illustrative forms of stay plates and joints between stay plates and stays, are set out on the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view, on a small scale, showing a container blank adapted for the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on a larger scale, showing an assembled container with the stays therein, parts being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a container blank, in semi-folded condition.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one typeof stay plate.

Fig. 5 is a cross section of the same substantially one line 5-5 of Fig. 4. y

Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of other forms of stay plates.

Figures 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views, on a larger scale, and corresponding respectively to the plate and lug arrangement of Figures 6 and 7.

It has heretofore been proposed to employ containers of the fiber type, in which the blank is made of solid or corrugated fiber material, for the shipment of various types of loads. Where the 55 4load is at least in part self-supporting, as with canned goods and other articles having a substantially fixed volume, the usual type of container is satisfactory under many conditions. When, however, it is sought to employ such a container for the shipment of bulk materials in which the container is loaded loosely with articles which may settle and shift, the load of the article in settling causes the weight to come .against the side walls and to bulge these walls outwardly. If a number of such containers are stacked one above another, the distortion by bulging oi' the vertical walls, out of plane, ultimately leads to crushing of the lower containers since the. non-plane walls have little or no strength against superimposed loads. Fur-- thermore, this bulging is highly disadvantageous as it leads to a weakening ofthe package at the edges and ultimately to a tearing at the comers. Furthermore, the package becomes irregular in shape and is far more subject to bruising and scratching.

It has heretofore been proposed to strengthen the container in several ways. For example, a current proposal is to employ extra heavy liners to absorb the stress at the edges, to prevent tearing. This however does not correct for the fundamental diiiculty of the bulging itself. As a test, three boxes of the same shape and size with loads of fifty pounds of the removable seals employed for soft drink bottles was shipped for several thousand miles, and it was found that the boxes bulged so that the three boxes required five inches more space after shipment than when delivered to the shipping company: by comparison, three identical boxes with identical loads, and shipped at the same time and in the same way. but with the present stays had no noticeable bulges after shipment.

Y, 0n the accompanying drawings, the blank shown invFlg. 1 comprises the four walls Si, Sa, Ss. S4 which are joined by parallel fold lines to one 95 another, each of them being provided with a pair of flaps comprising the top flaps T1, T2, Ts, T4, and the bottom ilaps B1,'Bz, Ba, B4. It will be noted thatthis is substantially a standard blank: and thatl in operating according to the present 100 invention, any desired relative shape and size may be given to the several parts in the usual way. Each of the sides Si, Sz,4 Ss,- S4 is shown as provided with an aperture 10, which is located remote from all edges of the corresponding wall, and in 105 the illustrated form is located at the mid-height and mid-width thereof. y

This blank can be folded into the form shown in Fig. 2 in the usual way, and the free vertical edges joined, for example, by a tape 11 as usual. 110

The bottom flaps are folded together, and connected to provide the bottom of the container.

According to the present invention, a stay is provided between opposite parallel walls, which 5 is joined to each of these walls and extends parof the stay, and in this form of construction, the

allel to the other pair of walls. In Fig. 2, two such stays are indicated for connecting the two pairs of parallel walls. Each stay 12 may be formed of any desired material having the requisite tensile strength. It has been found that wire, flat strap material, or a fabric such as shoe lacing or the like (preferably saturated with a rubber solution or other water-proofing and strengthening material) may be employed. Such stay should be resistant against tensile stress and should be capable of yielding flexibly adjacent the walls to which it is attached. These stays are passed through the apertures 10.

In order to distribute the stress existing in the stay wire, and to absorb the strain produced by the lading upon each wall, stay plates are provided at these walls. In Fig. 2, each end of each stay is provided with a plate 13 which is located externally of the corresponding container wall, and is connected fxedly to the stay itself.

When the container is assembled and the stays positioned, but with the top and bottom flaps still in plane with their corresponding sides, the assembled blank can be crushed or folded as shown in Fig. 3. Since the pairs of opposite parallel walls are of the same length from edge to edge, they continue to form a parallelogram. regardless of the folding, and since each stay is joined to its pair of wallsand,extends parallel to the other pair of walls, the folding does not cause either looseness or excessive tightening of the stays. It is therefore obvious that the-assembled container can be shipped flat at no substantially greater cost' than'ordinary containers: and that it may be immediately prepa-red for use by opening, and

folding in and sealing the bottom flaps. It is then ready for the reception of its lading material, and can be handled and closed in any standard automatic sealing equipment.

In shipment, when loads of bulk material are placed therein, any settling cannot cause bulging of the sides, as the sides are supported by these stays. In the form illustrated in Fig. 2, each pair of opposite walls is supported at its center point, i. e. the point at which a maximum bulgingv may occur in the normal container: and since this support is parallel vto the direction of movement of the wall in bulging, a relatively light stay is suiicient to resist a considerable load.

Since the walls Si, Sz, Sa, S4 are held inplane, the container retains its original size and shape, and a`number of them can be stacked with'out diiculties by reason of crushing. For example, it has been found in practice that eight containers each holding fty pounds of a bulk material such as the crown seals mentioned above, with a total load of 400 pounds, maybe stacked, and are then not crushed in shipment.

- The stay plates may have many different forms. In Fig. 4 the stay plate is shown as comprising flat portions 14 surrounding a central raised annular rib 15 with a central depression 16. Radial ribs 17 extend between the flat portions 14 for stiffening the plate against warping. The central depression 16 is apertured to permit the passage stay 12 is-illustrated as being a wire having its end passed through an aperture in the central depression 16 and then back through a. second aperture, the free end of the wire being bent; around the length of the stay 12.

It is preferred to provide the stay plates with prongs 18 which are illustrated as being at the four corners of the stay plate, and which serve to engage into the material of the container, and

vwith the main portion of the plate to provide a hook around which the projecting end 12a of the stay may be bent and secured. Any excess length of wire, for example, may be cut oi at the point 2l, without danger of the unwrapping of the end of the stay. If desired, the lug 20 may be clinched down to assist further in holding the turns in position.

In Fig. '1, the stay plate 14h has an aperture 19a for the stay wire, and a lug 20a which however is shown folded backward over the aperture 19a. The wire or similar stay 12 is passed through the aperture 19a and wrapped around the lug 20a while it extends for example away from the plate 14h. The lug 20a is then bent downward to grip L.'

the turns and hold them against separation.

With these several illustrated forms of construction, the container is set up or assembled as a unit in the usual way. One of the stay plates may be fxd at the end of the stay Wire, for example, and then this wire is threaded through the opposite apertures 10 of a pair of walls. A second stay plate is threaded onto the projecting end of the stay, and the spurs 18 are engaged in the material of the walls. of the stay may then be secured to the stay plate, as for example in one of the ways described above. In this operation, it is desirable to maintain the opposite walls both plane and parallel.v

It is, however, equally possible to assemble the stays and plates in the container without assembling it so far as shown in Fig. 2,-as the length of the stay remains the same whether the walls Si, Sz, Sa, S4 are at right angles to one another,

or are at acute and obtuse angles as shown in Fig. 3.

By this arrangement, it is possible to assemble a container at a container factory and ship it to a manufacturer who completes the assembly,

loads and seals the container, and delivers it for wall-engaging portion having a stay-receiving aperture, and a lug bent out of the plane of said wall for engaging and holding the end of a stay.

2. A container comprising two pairs of opposite parallel walls of fiber board, and a stay joined to each wall of one said pair at a point thereof spaced from all its edges whereby to stiien the The projecting end same against bulging, said stay extending par-A allel to trie other pair of walls, said walls being connected so that the container may be folded about the connections of -said walls, said stay and the walls parallel thereto remaining parallel throughout the folding operation.

3. A container comprising two pairs of opposite parallel walls of flexible material, a stay plate on the exterior of each wall at a point removed from the edges thereof, and a pair of stays located substantially at a right angle to one another and each having bent portions inmediately outside two of said plates and extending through apertures of one pair of said walls and across the container in a direction parallel to the other pair of walls whereby to stiilen the walls against bulging outwardly.

4. A container comprising two pairs of opposite parallel walls of flexible material, a stay plate on the exterior of each wall at a point removed from the edges thereof, and a pair of stays each xed to two of said plates and extending through apertures of one pair of said walls and across the container in a direction 'parallel to the other pair of walls whereby to stiien the walls against bulging outwardly, and permanent corner hinge joints between said walls whereby they may be folded at together, said stays and walls maintaining parallelism during the folding operation.

5. A foldable 'container comprising two pairs of opposed parallel walls, a stay plate on the exterior of each wall of one pair, and a stay fixed to said plates and extending through apertures of the walls of said one pair and across the container in a direction parallel to the other pair of walls, and permanent corner hinge joints between said walls whereby they may be folded while maintaining the parallelism of said stay and said other pair of walls, each said stay plate having means for fixing it in position upon its wall so that said stay is maintained in said parallelism.

6. A foldable container of exible fiber board comprising two pairs of oppositely parallel walls, said walls having extensions hinged thereto for providing the top and bottom of the container, external stay plates including spurs engaged in said walls, and stays for joining the stay plates of pairs of walls, each stay being flexible adjacent its stay plates, permanent corner hinge joints between said walls and about which they may be folded when the top and bottom projections of said walls are in plane with the walls to which attached, said stays being maintained by said plates in parallelism with said walls during folding.

7. A container comprising two pairs of opposite parallel walls of fiber board hingedly connected along their vertical edges, stay plates 1ocated at the outsides of one pair of said walls at points remote from the edges thereof and secured against movement parallel to said one pair of walls, and a stay attached to said plates and extending across the container parallel to the other pair of said walls for preventing outward bulging of the walls of said one pair, whereby the walls and stay may be folded flat upon one another and opened while the said other pair of walls and the stay maintain their parallelism.

8. A container comprising two pairs of opposite parallel walls of fiber board hingedly connected along their vertical edges, stay plates located at the outsides of one pair of said walls at the midheight and mid-width of each of the same and secured against movement in the planes thereof, and a stay attached to said plates and extending across the container parallel to the other pair of said walls for preventing outward bulging of the walls of said one pair, whereby the walls and stay may be folded at upon one another and opened while the said other pair of walls and the stay maintain their parallelism.

9. A stay plate for a container comprising a wall engaging portion having stiffening ribs extending at an angle to one another, and a stayreceiving aperture therethrough at the junction of said ribs and wall-engageable spurs located at outer edges of the wall-engaging portion.

10. A stay plate for a container comprising a wall engaging portion of substantially square shape and having diagonally extending reinforcing ribs and a stay-receiving aperture substantially at the center thereof, and spurs bent out of the general plane of the plate and located at the corners for engaging in the material of a container wall to prevent displacement of said stay plate in the direction of its surface.

l1. A foldable container including pairs of opposite walls of flexible material subject to bulging under the action of the contents of the container and joined at the edges for folding, and stay means including a portion extending across the container space between the walls of one said pair at points of said walls remote from the edges thereof, said stay means also including members ilxedly secured to said portion and located externally of the walls at said points for distributing the stresses of said stay portions to large areas of the walls, said stay portion being parallel to another pair of said walls and folding with the container while remaining parallel to said other pair of walls.

EDGAR WATSON. 

